Background
Photosynthesis is the basis of food production, but until recently breeding programs put little effort in optimizing the efficiency with which solar energy is converted into plant biomass. As with many traits related to yield, an important restriction has been the complex physiology and regulation underlying the trait and its strong interaction with the environment. Excitingly, recent developments in high-throughput phenotyping and analysis of accurate real-time photosynthesis traits and the construction of powerful novel genetic resources, such as chromosome substitution lines, now overcome many of the research constraints. In this project these tools will be used to analyse how genetic and physiological key components interact with each other and with the environment thus shaping the genetics of natural variation in photosynthetic efficiency. Such analyses enable the precise quantification of genetic variation and the specific prediction of plant performance in changing growth conditions. The project aims at elucidating, at the gene level, the contribution of epistatic interactions to the genetic regulatory network underpinning photosynthetic efficiency. For this, two species will be investigated, the reference plant species Arabidopsis thaliana and, in a twin project in collaboration with a plant breeding company, the crop model Cucumis sativus (Cucumber).
The project will be executed at the Laboratory of Genetics and the Horticulture and Product Physiology group of Wageningen University, but will involve regular work discussions with the collaborating plant breeding company. It will include plant (photosynthesis) phenotyping, the investigation of genotype to phenotype relationships using genetic, physiological and statistical approaches and the cloning and characterization of several of the genes involved.
Function Requirements
The successful PhD candidate has an MSc degree in Biology, Plant Biotechnology or Plant Sciences or comparable experience, with a demonstratable interest in combining physiology, molecular genetics and statistics. You have experience with experimental biology as well as statistical methods for the quantification of biological processes. The candidate will be proficient in the English language. We are looking for highly motivated candidates who can work in a multidisciplinary team in a collaborative spirit. Within our team, PhD students are encouraged to supervise MSc thesis students when such opportunities arise.
Working conditions
We offer a full-time PhD position (38 hours), initially for 1 year after which a go/no go decision will be taken on extension with another three years. Gross salary per month € 2174,- in the first year rising to € 2779,- per month in the fourth year, for a fulltime appointment. The candidate will be based at the Laboratory of Genetics in Wageningen.
Contact information
Information on the research: Prof. dr. Joost Keurentjes – Joost.Keurentjes@wur.nl , Dr. Mark Aarts – Mark.Aarts@wur.nl, or Dr. Jeremy Harbinson – Jeremy.Harbinson@wur.nl.Information on the selection procedure: Mrs. Hedwig Casteels (hedwig.casteels@wur.nl).
You can apply up and until August 28th, 2016
Additional information
For details of this vacancy visit the original source
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